Manchester United
Premier League • England
Man Utd tipped to rival Liverpool for £90m-rated winger as Amorim demands signing of ‘special talent’
Manchester United’s soon-to-be new manager Ruben Amorim is reportedly eyeing a blockbuster move for Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who is also a target for Liverpool.
Amorim has been officially announced as Erik ten Hag’s successor and will take charge of the Red Devils after this month’s international break.
The 39-year-old coach has already begun discussing his transfer plans with the Man Utd board and one of his priorities is to sign a new winger.
According to CaughtOffside, Amorim is keen to sign a ‘special talent’ who will ‘light up Old Trafford’ and has identified Kvaratskhelia as a top target.
Napoli have reportedly put a £90m price tag on the Georgian international’s head but that hasn’t deterred Amorim, who ‘wants him to replace Man Utd flop, Antony.’
Kvaratskhelia, 23, is under contract with Napoli until 2027 and Antonio Conte’s side are keen to tie him down to a new long term deal.
However, those negotiations are currently at an ‘impasse’ and that has given Man Utd confidence that they can agree a shock deal. Kvaratskhelia wants an affordable release clause to be included in his deal – something Napoli aren’t willing to agree to.
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Man Utd to rival Liverpool for Napoli star – report
Sources have revealed to TEAMtalk that Liverpool hold a concrete interest in Kvaratskhelia. He is being considered by the Reds as they plan for the potential departure of Mohamed Salah.
Salah, 32, is out of contract at the end of the season and TEAMtalk sources say it is unlikely he will pen an extension with Liverpool, with clubs from the Saudi Pro League pushing to sign him.
Kvaratskhelia is one replacement option being looked at. However, while Liverpool’s interest is there, we understand that their top three forward targets as things stand are Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi, Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sane and Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo.
The trio would all be cheaper than Kvaratskhelia, with Sane set to be available on a free transfer next summer if he doesn’t sign a new contract with Bayern.
But as Kvaratskhelia’s contract talks with Napoli drag on, more and more sides are likely to register an interest in signing him in 2025, so it will be interesting to see how this story develops.
Kvaratskhelia joined Napoli in 2022 and has made 100 appearances for the Serie A side so far, scoring a very impressive 30 goals and making 28 assists in the process.
Man Utd round up: Four Man Utd stars under threat / Sporting trio eyed
Meanwhile, sources have revealed to TEAMtalk that Ruben Amorim has already informed the Man Utd board of four Red Devils stars that ‘don’t interest him’ and he would be happy to sell in January.
The quadruple are Antony, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelof. Eriksen and Lindelof are out of contract at the end of the season and will be allowed to leave on free transfers if there are no bids submitted for them in January.
The Man Utd board are in agreement with Amorim that Antony and Casemiro’s performances do not reflect their huge wages of £200,000 and £350,000 per week respectively.
The club is therefore willing to sell both players this winter for around £25m. We understand that Amorim would like to sign Sporting CP star Marcus Edwards to replace Antony, who is being linked with a move to former club Tottenham.
In addition to Edwards, sources have revealed to TEAMtalk that Amorim has asked Man Utd to enquire about signing Sporting CP stars Pedro ‘Pote’ Goncavles and Goncalo Inacio.
With that in mind, we could potentially see some of Sporting’s star players follow Amorim to the Premier League in the coming months.
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